This court “hereby accepts the guilty plea of the defendant to the charge […] and the defendant is adjudged guilty of such offense,” wrote Judge Richard Jones.
A federal judge accepted Binance founder Changpang “CZ” Zhao’s guilty plea to money laundering, but hasn’t decided if he can leave the United States before his February sentencing date.
In a Dec. 6 filing to a Seattle District Court, Judge Richard Jones said he accepted Zhao’s guilty plea to one count of Bank Secrecy Act violations, which he submitted over two weeks ago on Nov. 21 alongside his exchange’s $4.3 billion settlement with the U.S.
As part of the settlement deal, Zhao agreed to step down as CEO of Binance and paid $150 million to regulators.
